AMERICA 

and 

JAPAN 

by 

Colonel 

Theodore  Roosevelt 


Reprinted  With  Permission  From 

The  New  York  Times 


Compliments  of 

Wm.  D.  Wheelwright 


Portland,  Oregon 


INTRODUCTION 

When,  in  the  latter  part  of  July,  1918, 
Colonel  Roosevelt’s  attention  was  drawn  to 
the  persistent  attacks  on  the  Japanese  in  the 
press  and  in  magazine  articles,  signed  in 
some  cases  by  men  known  to  be  in  the  pay  of 
China  and  persona  non  grata  in  Japan  or 
by  authors  who  wished  to  pose  as  prophets 
in  predicting  war  with  Japan,  he  instantly 
saw  the  importance  of  putting  a stop  to  it. 
For  that  reason  he  wrote  the  accompanying 
article. 

From  the  moment  the  matter  was  men- 
tioned to  him  he  seized  upon  it  with  his  usual 
energy  and  urged  haste  in  securing  the  quo- 
tations and  other  material  which  he  needed. 
Several  times,  in  the  interviews  at  Oyster 
Bay  which  followed,  he  rose  from  his  desk 
and  walked  the  floor,  saying,  “This  is  of 
international  importance,”  or  “We  must  at- 
tack this  wherever  we  see  it,”  or  “Doesn’t 
any  sane  man  know  that  Japan’s  friendship 
is  the  best  asset  we  can  have  in  the  Orient?” 

The  “message,”  as  he  called  it,  was  writ- 
ten in  those  sad,  trying  days  when  he  was 
receiving  cable  confirmation  of  Quentin’s 
death,  and  I saw  by  his  manner,  as  well  as 
by  his  kindly  words  to  me,  when  I suggested 
that  our  interviews  be  postponed,  that  it  was 
a relief  for  him  to  have  a subject  before  him 
to  which  he  could  give  his  whole  heart.  The 
manuscript  came  in  ten  days,  on  the  date  set 
by  himself,  together  with  a letter  to  me  in- 
structing me  to  show  the  article  to  Viscount 
Ishii,  and,  if  it  met  with  his  approval,  I was 
then  permitted  to  publish  it  wherever  and 
whenever  I chose. 

Accordingly,  I went  to  Washington  and 
submitted  the  original  manuscript  to  Vis- 
count Ishii,  explaining  that  Colonel  Roose- 
velt had  written  it  in  order  to  help  counter- 
act the  antagonism  toward  Japan;  also  that 
he  had  not  been  asked  to  write  it  by  any 
Japanese  or  by  anyone  representing  or  con- 
nected with  the  Japanese  or  any  other  gov- 
ernment. 

A few  days  later  Viscount  Ishii  expressed 
his  approval  and  his  thanks  in  a brief  note 
to  me,  requesting  that  it  be  shown  to  Colonel 
Roosevelt. 


J.  B.  MILLET. 


Note  by  the  Editor  of  the  New  York  Times 

J.  B.  Millet,  traveler  and  writer,  had 
long  been  a friend  of  Colonel  Roosevelt. 
Having  spent  much  of  his  time  in  Japan, 
Mr.  Millet  was  specially  interested  in  pre- 
senting to  the  American  public  the  truth 
about  that  country’s  war  record  and  ideals. 
So  he  went  to  the  ex-President  and  asked 
him  to  write  the  article  printed  herewith. 


America  and  Japan 

By  Colonel  Theodore  Roosevelt 


JAPAN ’S  CAREER  during  the  past  fifty 
years  has  been  without  parallel  in  world  his- 
tory. Japan  has  played  a part  of  extraordi- 
nary iisefulness  to  the  allied  cause  in  this 
war  for  ciA'ilization.  Japan’s  friendship 
should  be  peculiarly  dear  to  the  United 
States,  and  every  far-sighted  public  man  in 
the  United  States  shoidd  do  his  utmost  to 
keep  a cordial  working  agreement  of  sympa- 
thy between  the  two  nations.  These  three 
facts  should  be  continually  in  the  minds  of 
every  good  American ; and  especially  at  this 
precise  moment.  Japan’s  sudden  rise  into  a 
foremost  position  among  the  occidental 
civilized  powers  has  been  an  extraordinary 
phenomenon.  There  has  been  nothing  in  the 
past  in  any  way  approaching  it.  No  other 
nation  in  history  has  ever  so  quickly  entered 
the  circle  of  civilized  powers. 

It  took  the  yellow-haired  barbarians  of  the 
north  who  overthrew  Rome  six  or  eight  cen- 
turies, before  the  civilization  they  built  up 
even  began  to  approach  the  civilization  they 
had  torn  down;  whereas  Japan  tore  down 
nothing  and  yet  reached  the  level  of  her 
western  neighbors  in  half  a century.  More- 
over, she  entered  the  circle  of  the  higher 
civilization  bearing  gifts  in  both  hands.  Her 
appreciation  of  art  and  nature,  her  refine- 
ment of  life,  and  many  of  her  social  conven- 
tions, together  Avith  her  extraordinary  and 
ennobling  patriotism,  convey  lessons  to  us 
of  America  and  Europe  Avhieh  we  shall  do 
well  to  learn.  Every  thoughtful  American 
who  dwells  on  the  relations  between  Japan 
and  the  United  States  must  realize  that  each 
has  something  to  learn  from  the  other. 


America  and  Japan 


o 


Japan’s  Part  Praised. 

In  this  war  Japan  has  played  a great  and 
useful  part.  That  she  had  her  special  and 
peculiar  grievances  against  Germany  goes 
■without  saying.  So  had  we.  She  took  these 
grievances  into  account  precisely  as  we  took 
our  grievances  into  account.  But  she 
ranged  herself  on  the  side  of  humanity  and 
freedom  and  justice  exactly  as  we  did.  Her 
duty  has  been,  first  of  all,  to  drive  Germany 
from  the  Pacific  and  to  police  and  protect  the 
Orient.  If  she  had  not  done  this  it  is  prob- 
able that  at  the  present  moment  a British 
and  American  force  would  be  besieging  Kiao- 
Chau  and  that  our  commerce  would  be  suf- 
fering from  German  raids  in  the  Pacific. 
Great  Britain  and  the  United  States  are  able 
to  keep  their  fleets  out  of  the  Pacific  at  this 
moment  because  the  Japanese  fleet  is  there. 

But  she  has  done  much  more  than  this. 
Gradually,  as  the  war  has  grown,  she  has 
extended  her  assistance  all  over  the  globe. 
Her  volunteers  have  appeared  in  that  most 
hazardous  of  all  military  branches,  the  air 
service,  at  the  extreme  fighting  front.  She 
has  sent  her  destroyers  to  protect  English 
and  American  troop  ships  and  cargo  ships 
in  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  the  North  Sea  and  the 
Mediterranean.  Japan’s  part  has  been 
great;  far  greater  than  anything  that  she 
was  called  upon  to  do  by  her  alliance  with 
Great  Britain.  She  first  captured  Kiao- 
Chau  and  sank  all  the  Austrian  and  German 
ships  there.  She  then  drove  the  German 
ships  out  of  the  Pacific.  Soon  thereafter  she 
lent  three  of  her  cruisers  to  Russia  to 
strengthen  her  fleet  in  the  Baltic.*  At  pres- 
ent her  destroyers  are  working  together  with 
the  British  and  American  destroyers  in  the 
Mediterranean  Sea  and  off  the  coasts  of  Eng- 
land, Spain  and  France.  Her  submarines 

*The  names  of  the  three  Japanese  cruisers  that 
were  given  back  to  Eussia  after  the  outbreak  of  the 
war,  together  with  their  original  Eussian  names,  are : 
Sagami  (Peresviet),  12,674  tons;  Tango  (Poltava), 
10,960  tons,  and  Soya  (Faryag),  6500  tons. 


6 


America  and  Japan 


have  been  working  in  company  with  the 
Italians. 

The  transports  from  Australia  and  New 
Zealand  have  been  convoyed  safely  by  Japa- 
nese warships.  Our  own  war  vessels  are  free 
for  convoying  our  troops  across  the  Atlantic 
largely  because  of  what  Japan  has  done  in 
the  Pacific.  She  supplied  enormous  quan- 
tities of  arms  and  munitions  to  Russia.  She 
lent  Russia  heavy  guns  and  loaned  her  mil- 
lions of  dollars.  She  has  given  to  the  allies 
quantities  of  copper.  She  has  sent  medical 
units  to  England,  France,  Russia,  Serbia  and 
Rumania.  She  has  offset  the  German  in- 
trigue in  India.  One  in  twenty-eight  of  the 
people  of  Japan  belong  to  the  Japanese  Red 
Cross ; one  in  four  of  the  Japanese  in  this 
country  are  in  the  American  Red  Cross.  Two 
thousand  Japanese  are  fighting  in  the  Can- 
adian army.  ** Japan  has  done  everything 
she  has  been  asked  to  do  or  permitted  to  do 
in  this  war,  and  this  statement  will  be  ques- 
tioned by  no  human  being  who  is  both  honest 
and  acquainted  with  the  actual  facts. 

Trouble-Makers  Scored. 

Yet,  at  this  very  time,  when  Japan’s  sons 
are  fighting  beside  ours  in  the  waters  of  the 
^Mediterranean  and  the  Bay  of  Biscay  and 
the  North  Sea  and  in  the  air  over  the  western 
front,  there  are  blatant  Americans  who  have 
served  Germany  against  America,  who  have 
played  the  German  game  to  the  limit,  by 
striving  to  make  trouble  between  Japan  and 
the  United  States;  by  seeking  every  way  to 
rouse  suspicion  and  distrust  of  Japan  in  the 
United  States ; and  by  doing  all  that  ma- 
levolent and  unscrupulous  baseness  can  do 
to  taunt  Japan  into  hostility  to  our  country. 
There  are  in  this  country  certain  demagogic 
politicians,  certain  agitators  seeking  notori- 
ety, and  certain  conscienceless  and  sensation- 
mongering  newspaper  owmers  and  Avriters 

** Japan  has  financed  her  own  part  in  the  war  with- 
out borrowing,  and  has  lent  more  than  $590,000,000  to 
England,  France  and  Eussia. 


America  and  Japan 


7 


who  are  willing  to  make  money  or  obtain 
preferment  for  themselves  by  any  appeal  to 
distrust  and  suspicion,  no  matter  what  in- 
finite harm  it  does  to  this  country.  These 
sordid  creatures  have  worked  hand  in  glove 
with  the  scarcely  more  sordid  creatures  who 
are  paid  by  Germany  in  downright  cash  to 
advance  Germany’s  aims,  whether  by  striv- 
ing to  provoke  an  ill-will  that  might  even- 
tually produce  war  between  the  United  States 
and  Japan  or  in  any  other  fashion.  They 
have  been  guilty  of  conduct  so  shameful  that 
it  can  not  be  too  strongly  condemned. 

Japan  has  a real  admiration  for  America, 
dating  back  for  sixty  years  to  the  time  of 
Perry.  The  two  nations  have  been  in  rela- 
tions of  close  friendship.  The  Japanese  have 
patiently  borne  misrepresentation,  insults 
and  false  accusations  from  various  authors, 
writers  and  public  speakers  of  this  country. 
They  are  a proud  nation.  They  have  suf- 
fered under  this  villification.  They  have 
believed  that  our  people  would  themselves 
realize  the  injustice  of  these  attacks.  Their 
belief  is  justified.  Our  people  are  beginning 
to  understand  that  of  recent  years  the  most 
flagrant  of  these  attacks  have  been  made  by 
German  agents  who  worked  diligently  and 
secretly  with  ample  government  money  to 
create  distrust  between  the  two  countries. 
The  time  has  come  for  us  Americans  to  show 
our  trust  and  confidence  in  Japan  as  a great, 
loyal,  modern  people,  whose  seat  at  the 
table  of  the  family  of  nations  is  next  to  ours, 
and  who  sit  there  on  a full  equality  with  all 
other  civilized  peoples.  The  rights  and 
duties  of  the  United  States  and  Japan 
toward  each  other  must  be  treated  on  a basis 
of  exact  reciprocal  equality.  Each  must 
have  full  control  of  all  things  vitally  affect- 
ing its  own  well-being;  each  must  treat  the 
other  with  frank  and  loyal  courtesy  and  con- 
sideration. 


8 


America  and  Japan 


Germans  Back  of  Effort. 

The  origin  and  persistence  of  German 
propaganda  for  the  purpose  of  embroiling 
Japan  and  the  United  States  is  now  fairly 
well  recognized.  Yet  until  Viscount  Ishii 
openly  and  publicly  accused  Germany  of  be- 
ing the  agent  of  this  nefarious  work,  the 
people  of  our  country  knew  practically 
nothing  about  it.  At  a reception  given  by 
the  National  Press  Club  in  Washington  to 
Viscount  Ishii  as  the  head  of  the  commission 
from  Japan,  September,  1917,  he  made  an 
address  which  was  for  the  most  part  devoted 
to  exposing  these  insidious  efforts  of  Ger- 
many. He  said,  in  part : 

“For  more  than  ten  years  a propaganda 
has  been  carried  on  in  this  country,  in  Japan, 
and,  in  fact,  throughout  the  world,  for  the 
one  and  sole  purpose  of  keeping  nations  of 
the  Far  East  and  Far  AVest  as  far  apart  as 
possible;  to  break  up  existing  treaties  and 
understandings;  to  create  distrust,  suspicion 
and  unkindly  feeling  between  neighbors  in 
the  Far  East  and  in  the  West,  and  all  in 
order  that  Germany  might  secure  advan- 
tages in  the  confusion.  I do  not  think  that 
you,  gentlemen,  in  your  busy  lives  here  dur- 
ing the  last  ten  years  have  given  more  than 
passing  attention  to  developments  in  the  Far 
East.  The  well-equipped  agent  of  your 
enemy  and  mine  has  taken  advantage  of  your 
preoccupation  or  of  your  kindly  credulity. 
For  many  years  his  work  was  easy.  The 
world  was  flooded  with  talks  of  Japan’s  mil- 
itary aspirations  and  Japan’s  duplicity. 
Have  these  been  borne  out  by  history?  Even 
now  the  German  publicity  agent  whispers 
first  in  your  ear  and  then  in  mine.  His 
story  is  specious,  and  is  told  in  dim  light 
which  falls  upon  sympathetic  pictures 
cleverly  painted  by  himself  and  presented  to 
you  and  to  me  in  the  past.  To  the  accom- 
paniment of  appeals  to  the  human  heart  he 
tells  to  me  other  stories  of  your  duplicity 
and  to  you  of  mine. 


America  and  Japan 


9 


Blunder  Gives  Clew. 

“For  twelve  years,  gentlemen,  up  to  the 
present  time,  those  agents  have  worked 
among  us  and  elsewhere  persistently  and 
cleverly.  They  have  been  supplied  with  un- 
limited resources.  No  wonder  we  have  been 
deceived.  A short  time  ago  a bad  blunder 
gave  us  a clew.  The  Zimmermann  note  to 
^Mexico  involving  Japan  was  a blunder.  It 
made  such  a noise  that  we  were  disturbed  in 
our  slumbers  and  so  were  you.  This  gave  a 
cheek  for  a time,  but  since,  the  agents  have 
been  hard  at  work.  They  were  at  work  yes- 
terday, and  they  are  at  work  today.  Every 
prejudice,  every  sympathy,  every  available 
argument  has  been  appealed  to  and  used  to 
show  to  your  people  and  to  ours  what  a low, 
cunning  enemy  we  have  each  in  the  other, 
and  how  much  dependent  we  are  upon  the 
future  friendship,  support  and  good-will  of 
Germany.  ’ ’ 

The  Zimmermann  note  was  an  official  in- 
vitation from  Germany  to  Japan  and  Mexico 
to  join  in  dismembering  the  United  States ; 
for  Germany  has  with  cynically  impartial 
bad  faith  striven  to  draw  her  own  profit 
from  the  ill-will  she  has  endeavored  to  ex- 
cite in  each  of  the  two  nations,  Japan  and 
America.  Every  American  public  man, 
newspaper  editor,  speaker  or  writer  who 
since  the  publication  of  the  Zimmermann 
note  has  striven  to  excite  America  against 
Japan  has  been  deliberately  playing  Ger- 
many’s game  against  this  country.  Such 
action  amounts  to  moral  treason  to  the 
United  States. 

If  any  person  thinks  this  too  strong  a 
statement,  I call  his  attention  to  the  recent 
deliberate  utterance  of  Secretary  of  State 
Lansing,  ex-Secretary  of  State  Root  and  ex- 
Ambassador  Gerard. 

Suspicion  Is  Discerned. 

Mr.  Lansing  says;  “There  had  unques- 
tionably been  growing  up  between  the 
peoples  of  the  two  countries  (Japan  and  the 


10 


America  and  Japan 

United  States)  a feeling  of  suspicion  as  to 
the  motives  inducing  the  activities  of  the 
other  in  the  Far  East,  a feeling  which,  if 
unchecked,  promised  to  develop  a serious 
situation.  Humors  and  reports  of  improper 
intentions  were  increasing  and  were  more 
and  more  believed.  Legitimate  commercial 
and  industrial  enterprises  without  ulterior 
motives  were  presumed  to  have  political  sig- 
nificance, with  the  result  that  opposition  to 
those  enterprises  was  aroused  in  the  other 
country.  The  attitude  of  constraint  and 
doubt  thus  created  was  fostered  and  encour- 
aged by  the  campaign  of  falsehood  which  for 
a long  time  had  been  adroitly  and  secretly 
carried  on  by  Germans  whose  government, 
as  part  of  its  foreign  policy,  desired  espe- 
cially so  to  alienate  this  country  and  Japan 
that  it  would  be  at  the  chosen  time  no  dif- 
ficult task  to  cause  a rupture  of  their  good 
relations.  Unfortunately  there  were  people 
in  both  countries,  many  of  whom  were  en- 
tirely honest  in  their  beliefs,  who  accepted 
every  false  rumor  as  true,  and  aided  the  Ger- 
man propaganda  by  declaring  that  their 
government  should  prepare  for  the  conflict 
which  they  asserted  was  inevitable,  that  the 
interests  of  the  two  nations  in  the  Far  East 
were  hostile,  and  that  every  activity  of  the 
other  country  in  the  Pacific  had  a sinister 
purpose.  ” 

Root  Scores  Propaganda. 

Mr.  Root  says:  “There  never  has  been  in 
this  country,  so  far  as  my  observation  and 
reading  go,  any  more  dangerous  and  per- 
sistent misrepresentation  regarding  the  rela- 
tions, the  purposes,  the  character  of  another 
country  with  which  we  have  relations  than 
in  the  case  of  the  relations  between  the 
Lfiiited  States  and  Japan.  I haven’t  the 
slightest  doubt  that  the  misrepresentations 
and  the  attempts  to  create  a feeling  among 
the  people  Avho  have  it  all  in  their  hands  now. 
the  attempts  to  create  bad  feeling  between 
the  United  States  and  Japan,  have  been  very 


America  and  Japan 


11 


largely  the  result  of  a fixed  and  settled  pur- 
pose, and  that  purpose,  it  seems  to  me,  grow- 
ing day  by  day  more  clear,  was  the  pur- 
pose that  formed  a part  of  the  policy  of  the 
great  ruling  caste  of  Germany,  which  is  at- 
tempting to  subjugate  the  world  today. 

“For  many  years  I was  very  familiar  with 
our  department  of  foreign  affairs,  and  for 
some  years  I was  especially  concerned  in  its 
operation.  During  that  time  there  were 
many  difficult,  perplexing  and  doubtful  ques- 
tions to  be  discussed  and  settled  between  the 
United  States  and  Japan.  During  that  time 
the  thoughtless  or  malicious  section  of  the 
press  was  doing  its  worst.  During  that  time 
the  demagogue  seeking  cheap  reputation  by 
stirring  up  the  passions  of  the  penplp  t.n 
whom  it  appealed  was  doing  its  worst.  There 
were  many  incidents  out  of  which  quarrels 
and  conflicts  might  have  arisen,  and  I hope 
you  will  remember  what  I say.  I say  that 
during  all  that  period,  there  never  was  a 
moment  when  the  government  of  Japan  was 
not  frank,  sincere,  friendly,  and  most  solici- 
tous not  to  enlarge,  but  to  minimize  and  do 
away  with  all  causes  of  controversy.  No  one 
who  has  any  familiarity  at  all  with  life  can 
be  mistaken  in  a negotiation  as  to  whether 
the  one  Avith  whom  he  is  negotiating  is  try- 
ing to  be  frank  or  trying  to  bring  on  a 
quarrel. 

Peace  Always  Championed. 

“That  is  a fundamental  thing  that  you 
can  not  be  mistaken  about.  And  there  was 
never  a more  consistent  and  noble  advocacy 
of  peace,  of  international  friendship  and  of 
real,  good  understanding  in  the  diplomacy 
of  this  Avorld  than  Avas  exhibited  by  the  rep- 
resentatives of  Japan,  both  here  and  in 
Japan,  during  all  these  years  in  their  rela- 
tions to  the  United  States.  I wish  for  no 
better,  no  more  frank  and  friendly  inter- 
course by  which  Japan  in  those  years  illus- 
trated the  best  qualities  of  the  new  diplo- 
macy as  between  rulers.’’ 


12 


America  and  Japan 


Mr.  Gerard  says:  “All  during  the  winter 
of  1914  in  Berlin,  Germans  from  the  highest 
down  tried  to  impress  me  with  the  great 
danger  which  they  said  threatened  America 
from  Japan.  The  military  and  naval  at- 
taches of  the  United  States  embassy  and  I 
were  told  that  the  German  information  sys- 
tem sent  news  that  Mexico  was  full  of  Japa- 
nese colonies  and  America  of  Japanese  spies. 
Possibly  much  of  the  prejudice  in  America 
against  the  Japanese  was  cooked  up  by  Ger- 
man propagandists,  which  we  later  learned 
to  know  so  well.” 

Japan’s  friendliness  and  good  faith  were 
strikingly  shown  in  the  early  days  of  the 
war,  when  the  question  arose  whether,  in 
case  of  war  between  the  United  States  and 
Japan,  Great  Britain  Avould  be  obliged  to 
assist  Japan.  This  was  excitedly  discussed 
here  and  in  England.  The  proposed  treaty 
of  arbitration  between  Great  Britain  and  the 
United  States  came  up  about  this  time,  and 
it  was  found  that  such  a treaty  was  pre- 
cluded by  the  terms  of  the  alliance  between 
Great  Britain  and  Japan.  It  was  at  Japan’s 
request  that  the  terms  of  her  treaty  with 
Great  Britain  be  revised  so  as  to  remove  the 
obstacle  to  the  arbitration  treaty,  to  which 
Great  Britain  consented.  This  was  Japan’s 
contribution  to  universal  peace. 

Regarding  this.  Viscount  Ishii  said  in  his 
address  in  the  National  Press  Club  in  Wash- 
ington, “Now  if  Japan  had  the  remotest  in- 
tention of  appealing  to  arms  against  America 
how  could  she  thus  voluntarily  have  re- 
nounced the  all-important  cooperation  of 
Great  Britain?  It  would  have  been  widely 
fluixotic.  Treaties  are  not  ‘scraps  of  paper’ 
to  Great  Britain.  Japan  knew  she  could 
rely  on  Great  Britain  religiously  to  carry 
out  her  promise.  It  was  my  good  fortune  to 
be  in  the  foreign  office  at  Tokio  at  the  time  of 
the  revision  of  the  treaty  of  alliance  with 
Great  Britain,  and,  modest  as  was  the  part 
I took  therein,  I can  give  you  the  personal 


America  and  Japan 


13 


and  emphatic  assurance  that  there  was  at 
that  time  no  one  in  the  government  or 
among  the  public  of  Japan  opposed  to  the 
terms  of  that  revision.  There  is,  one  may 
surely  he  safe  in  saying,  only  one  way  to  in- 
terpret this  attitude  of  Japan.  It  is  the 
most  signal  proof — if,  indeed,  any  proofs  are 
needed — that  to  the  Japanese  government 
and  nation  anything  like  armed  conflict  with 
America  is  simply  unthinkable.” 

Nothing  Lent  Japan. 

Japan,  alone  among  the  allies,  has  bor- 
rowed no  money  from  the  United  States ; and 
she  has  lent  hundreds  of  millions  to  the  other 
allied  nations.  The  Japanese  have  made  a 
record  in  war  charities  during  the  last  four 
years  which  is  of  really  extraordinary  fine- 
ness and  disinterestedriess.  The  women  of 
Japan  used  the  same  methods  for  raising 
money  to  be  sent  to  Belgium  and  Serbia  and 
elsewhere  that  our  own  women  did.  They  had 
their  “Japan  Belgian  Relief  Society,”  their 
“Japan  Serbian  Relief  Society,”  etc.  They 
sent  $150,000  to  the  Italian  refugees  who 
lost  their  homes  when  the  Teutonic  armies  in- 
vaded Italy.  Stimulated  by  these  smaller 
but  very  active  organizations,  a movement 
Avas  started  which  spread  from  end  to  end 
of  the  empire  and  then  across  to  Korea.  Its 
title  is  “The  Japanese  Association  for  Aid- 
ing the  Sick  and  Wounded  Soldiers  and 
Others  Suffering  from  the  War  with  Allied 
Countries.”  Its  president  is  Prince  lyesato 
Tokugawa,  president  of  the  house  of  peers. 
The  vice  president  is  Baron  Shibusawa,  the 
financier  so  Avell  known  in  this  country.  The 
fund  collected  amounted  to  $1,000,000  and 
was  distributed  as  follows  : 


To  Great  Britain $184,000 

France  184,000 

Russia  184,000 

Italy  184,000 

Belgium  184,000 

Serbia  60,000 

Rumania  60,000 


M 


America  and  Japan 


People  United  for  War. 

Ordinarily,  funds  of  this  size  and  character 
are  distributed  by  a committee,  but  this  as- 
sociation adopted  a less  expensive  and  much 
more  modern  method.  The  money  was  sent 
to  the  Japanese  official  representatives  in  the 
various  countries.  A pamphlet  was  pulj- 
lished  in  Japanese  and  in  English  under  the 
title  “Japan  to  Her  Allies,”  which  stated  the 
purpose  of  the  association  and  also  included 
articles  written  by  leading  men  of  the 
country,  in  which  they  set  forth  their  sym- 
pathy with  all  the  sufferers,  their  opinion  of 
Germany’s  responsibility  for  the  war,  and 
her  abominable  methods  of  conducting  it. 
and  their  belief  in  the  ultimate  victory  of 
the  allies.  It  is  a remarkable  publication; 
nothing  quite  equal  to  it  has  originated  in 
any  of  the  occidental  countries.  The  quality 
of  the  pamphlet  is  shown  by  the  following 
quotation  from  the  dignified  and  impressive 
statement  of  Count  Terauchi,  the  prime  min- 
ister and  official  spokesman  of  the  Japanese 
people : 

“Far  removed  as  the  empire  of  Japan  is 
from  the  center  of  action,  and  little  as  the 
people  of  Japan  have  suffered  in  comparison 
with  their  European  allies,  Japan  and  her 
people,  none  the  less,  know  the  meaning  of 
war,  and  are  able,  therefore,  to  appreciate 
the  sufferings  and  sacrifices  of  their  allies 
as  their  own.  The  people  of  Japan  feel  them- 
selves one  with  the  people  of  the  invaded 
countries,  just  as  the  people  of  the  allies  do. 
They  are  one  in  sympathy  and  in  the  fight 
for  international  justice,  and  stand  ready  to 
share  the  hardships  of  the  struggle  to  the 
fullest  extent.  * * * As  the  prime  min- 

ister of  Japan  it  is  my  privilege  and  plea- 
sure hereby  to  express  the  sympathy  and 
good-will  of  the  people  of  Japan  for  the 
allied  armies  and  peoples  in  this  day  of  trial. 

* * * Though  the  amount  contributed 

may  seem  no  more  than  a mere  trifle  in  com- 
parison with  the  need  of  the  suffering  na- 


America  and  Japan 


ir> 


tions.  the  heartfelt  sympathy  and  admira- 
tion of  a whole  nation  go  with  it.  Those 
who  receive  the  gift  from  Japan  may  well 
look  upon  it  as  the  widow’s  mite  that  means 
moi’e  than  all  the  offerings  of  the  rich.” 

Respect  for  Japan  Demanded. 

There  is  not  time  in  this  message  to  discuss 
fully  our  proper  relations  to  Japan;  I have 
set  them  forth  as  I see  them — and  as  I see 
our  proper  position  as  regards  all  our  inter- 
national relations — in  my  book  ‘‘Fear  God 
and  Take  Your  Oavu  Part.”  But  there  is 
always  time  to  point  out  the  elemental  fact 
that  this  country  shoidd  feel  for  Japan  a 
peculiar  admiration  and  resi)ect.  and  that 
one  of  the  cardinal  principles  of  our  foreign 
policy  should  be  to  secure  and  retain  her 
friendship,  respect,  and  good-will.  There  is 
not  the  slightest  real  or  necessary  conflict  of 
interest  between  the  United  States  and 
Japan  in  the  Pacific ; her  interest  is  in  Asia, 
ours  in  America  ; neither  has  any  desire  or 
excuse  for  acquiring  territory  in  the  other 
continent.  Japan  is  playing  a great  part  in 
the  civilized  world ; a good  understanding 
between  her  and  the  United  States  is  essen- 
tial to  international  progress,  and  it  is  a 
grave  offense  against  the  United  States  for 
any  man  by  word  or  deed  to  jeopardize  this 
good  understanding. 

The  case  has  been  put  in  a nutshell  in  Vis- 
count Ishii’s  eloquent  and  appealing  address 
at  Fair  Haven,  Mass.,  on  July  4.  which  he 
closed  with  these  Avords : 

‘‘AVe  trust  you,  Ave  love  you,  and.  if  you 
AA’ill  let  Ais,  Ave  Avill  Avalk  at  your  side  in  loyal 
good-felloAA’ship  doAAUi  all  the  coming  years.” 

All  good  Americans  should  act  toAvard 
Japan  in  precisely  the  spirit  shoAA'n  tOAvard 
America  by  this  able  and  eloquent  Japanese 
statesman. 


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